Hobby Financing

[Anonymous]

Having just read a number of posts discussing LHS vs. Internet sales, it got me to wondering about purchasing habits. I have read posts where someone claims to have just picked up 12 of this and 10 of that. The only way I could do something like that would be on the old Visa card. When my wife see's the bill, it would also be the last time.( she is the household accountant ).
I am fortunate in that I have a job which affords me a ton of overtime. The extra cash I get from this pretty much pays for my hobby. That said, I pretty much pay cash for all my purchases. To my question:
How much of your hobby purchasing is done using cash vs. credit card?

[Anonymous]

Get a separate credit card with your work address/shipping address.
This form of payment, if in stock, allows shipment the same day if mail order.

[Fergmiester]

I spend far too much on this hobby of ours. My wife, god bless her, is quite aware of what goes on behind her back but can't stand to see me pout. Sorry guys it's a gift of mine.

One thing I do (from time to time) is discuss the issue with the CFO, It actually goes along way, after all she approved the DCC system!

Fergie

[fiatfan]

I generally pay cash. I take so much off the top of my paycheck for pocket money and set most of that aside. Then, when it's time for a trip to the LHS (90+ miles away) out comes the savings fund.

I do use the credit card but only because the internet firms don't take cash. If I order off the internet, the money comes from the savings fund into the checking account when the bill comes.

Tom

[jdolan]

In my case the CFO is active in the hobby so the finances are easier to come by. We work together on the layout so she knows what we need and goes to help buy it or approves online purchases. She also knows that occaqsionly I "need" to buy a new locomotive or car, just have it.

[Anonymous]

Separate cedit cards for my wife and I. I've also been lucky enough over the years to have made a fair amount of money from my published articles and photos that anything I've spent did not come out of the household finances. I've also sold a lot of stuff on eBay, both modeling related and not, and all of this goes into a separate savings account for my "toys". [:D]

Bob Boudreau

[egmurphy]

I'm not a big spender anyway, so what I do may not matter in the big picture.

The small amount of stuff that I get thru ebay is paid using paypal and comes straight out of the checking account.

Of my regular purchases, including LHS, internet stores, and magazine subscriptions, I'd guess that 95%+ is done by credit card. We use an American Express card that I have to pay off completely each month so there are no additional interest charges.

We have a loose budget for hobby stuff and I easily stay inside that number.


Regards

Ed

[grayfox1119]

I use the credit card for tracking purposes for the CFO (me in this case, the wife hates numbers, lucky me). I do pay the bill off each month most of the time, this prevents any interest charges. Carrying a lot of cash around is not a good idea these days unless you are faster than a speeding bullet.

grayfox1119

[Anonymous]

I use a bank debit card for online and larger LHS purchases - as grayfox says, carrying large sums around in cash isn't a good idea. I don't have a credit card - from what I've seen they seem to be a very bad idea for students - many of my friends have spectacular debts which they cannot pay off but only manage, and I really don't want to get into that situation! Cash is for smaller amounts, and eBay purchases are paid for by cheque.

[raynbecky]

Mostly cash, if I charge it and don't have money for it I'm a dead man. ;>

[Anonymous]

Just digging out of some credit card debt - only have one now and it's "emergency" or business-travel (which gets reimbursed!) only. But fortunately for me, fincances are to the point where any expenses are able to paid with the debit card. I'm single again so I have the only vote that matters!

[Jetrock]

I use a credit card for online purchases--they are much safer in terms of ripoff protection than bank debit cards. But I deliberately got one with a very high interest rate and PAY OFF THE CARD ENTIRELY, EVERY MONTH, so I never pay that high interest. If you can do that it's a good safe medium. However, it is easy for folks to get "hooked" on the card and end up spending more than they can pay back...I've been there, which is why I pay it off every month!

At train shows I have learned to bring as much cash as I am willing to spend--and NO CREDIT OR ATM CARDS.

My wife and I have separate finances but she likes the fact that I am into model railroading instead of running around late at night. Setting up a separate credit card account, keeping it secret and making on-the-sly trips to the hobby shop sounds like a good way to make your wife suspect you're having an affair..

"Is that lipstick on his collar, or Polly S Boxcar Red?"

[Anonymous]

No charging here. The interest will knock em dead. We do have some of the lowest rates but am aiming for debt free. I tried that once with a seperate card several years ago and it is very easy to charge and charge and charge.

Cash is where it is at for me. The wife is aware of my hobby activities and as long I stay within the budget I can get whatever that is needed... err.. wanted.

Once in a while I bring home a purchase that I know I should not have made. Only to face the music in the form of extra honey-do jobs and other accomodations for a period of time.. almost like working off your dinner bill doing dishes.

[Anonymous]

I make all of my big purchases on the internet due to the discounts. Everything else i buy in cash

[mikebonellisr]

I have yet to buy anything off the internet.I get most of my "stuff" at my LHS where I pay cash or mail order where I pay with a MO.I'm a freelance artist and my CEO has no idea what I charge per job.Sometime I keep a little out or sometime a lot [if I need/want a new engine] Also many of my clients know about my hobby and are kind enough to give me gift certificates to a LHS, TTX. The Caboose[for brass] and a couple of other RR shops at Christmas,my birthday,and just a thank you when they land a account or when I pu***o make a tight deadline.I also keep a slush fund for those gotta have items that come out every month.

[pbjwilson]

Home equity loan. I call it my basement remodeling project!

[jwr_1986]

I'm eighteen and don't hold a single credit card. Since I don't have a decent LHS I do mostly online ordering with my debit card. This is great because microsoft money gives me a virtually real time balance on my checking account so I resist the urge to splurge. If i wanted to get fancy I could even do reports and graphs on my hobby spending. My post on another topic made me realize that I have probably topped one thousand for the year and on a college budget that's squeezing Mr. Lincoln slightly thinner than a Big Boy would.

Jesse

[Anonymous]

Im an addict. I spend most of my available money on trains with little or no regard for what I might need that money for in the future......

All kidding aside, I do do a fair amount of budgeting. I am young, single, and in college. I have been fortunat the last couple of years to have a financial aid grant surplus so I get to have a little extra cash around the first of the semester which I generally pour into my model train stash. I also plan a small portion of my budget to "Model Trains" and another segment to "Fun" so I can always have some kind of activity going on in the aquisistion field.

However lately my model train purchases have become more fucused and I am buying less and less stuff that does not fit my chosen era. (Winter 1969) and purchasing more and more items that fit, as well as other layout items like buildings, and scenic details, (I.e. Block Signals) I hope to be able to build a respectable sized layout by the end of 2005. We shall see what becomes of that.

James

[jhoff310]

I am the CFO in my house, I tell my BOSS( wife) what i need for the layout and she gives me the approval. Most of the time she says you buy whatever you need honey you know how our finances are. I cut grass and haul scrap metal during the summer months and save save save it for my layout and vacation, so any money i spend on my layout doesnt affect our monthly finances but my wife doesnt know that.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jetrock
My wife and I have separate finances but she likes the fact that I am into model railroading instead of running around late at night. Setting up a separate credit card account, keeping it secret and making on-the-sly trips to the hobby shop sounds like a good way to make your wife suspect you're having an affair...

[#ditto]
Maybe the "affair" suspicion would not arise in my case, but... if I have to resort to devious behavior to get what I want for this hobby, it is no longer fun but an addiction, a disease!

[Anonymous]

I use cash because I am not old enough to get a credit card, and I like to be able to talk to the person I am buying something from. Have learned a lot that way. Welcome to 2005!,
Morgan

[Anonymous]

Well I spend to much if you ask my wife ,not enough if you ask me.90% is by credit card either off of e-bay or internet Hobby shops.What I buy at the lhs is usually done in cash

[Anonymous]

dudes, stay with the cash and away from the cards. Just think, with the intrest....a 200 dollar loco now costs close to 350 after you pay the card off. I just found out that my discover card that I had for close to 10 years is at a wopping 26%. screw that! My fiance is totally cool with using debit and cash and I always get what I want. The trains keep me home and she likes to help out.

[halifaxcn]

I have a credit card through my work credit union that I capped at $ 2,500. I just take my side job money monthly and throw it at the expenses. Always careful to keep it paid off. Learned my lessons the hard way many years ago.

I use bought local hobby shops and the internet for my purchases.

I liked the idea put forward by Ian Rice about the credit card. He stated that he uses a plan very much lime mine. Glad to see that I am doing some things right :-)

[Anonymous]

As a student, I racked up the credit card bills. Never again. Accumulating debt on "toys" is simply poor decision making.

I'm planning on getting into MRR after a 15 year break. When I was a kid, I couldn't afford to spend much on it. As an adult, I don't want to spend money on it, but I want to enjoy it. Scratchbuilding, here I come.

Just read an interesting book recommended by a friend, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". I'm not trying to sell anyone on the book, which is sort of just a financial motivational book, but after reading it, and really letting some things sink in, the idea of spending a lot of money on "toys" seems downright silly. It always seemed sort of self-indulgent, but now it really seems silly.

Glad to hear you college aged kids above are not getting involved with credit cards. I did in college - and it was stupid. Congratulations on not falling for the American "got to have it now" garbage. The big money people become the winners if you give into that. The losers are the hard working / not financially savvy people who end up with fancy cars / $10,000 TV's, you name it, but with no financial future.

Yikes, I started to get worked up a bit there : )

[Anonymous]

I should add that hopefully as life progresses, it will be easier to "reward" myself with things like spending more money on this fun hobby of ours.

Until I make the big bucks (if, that is), there will be no $100+ locomotive purchases, (brass - forget it), no covering a layout with premade expensive trees, etc.

As attracted as I am to the hobby, I could imagine it snowballing if I didn't exercise a lot of control over purchases.

Better to put money into house, investments, etc. for me/my wife at this age (30).

My stepdad works with a guy who is broke, but has every new electronic gadget on the market. Yikes. Oops - getting worked up again!

[Ibflattop]

A long black trench coat for sneeking stuff into the house works fine also. HEHEHEHEHE Kevin